Travellers arriving in the UK from Croatia, Austria and Trinidad and Tobago after 4am on Saturday will have to stay in quarantine for 14 days, the Transport Secretary has said.
Grant Shapps made the announcement in a bid to control the spread of coronavirus, with cases spiralling in those countries.
But passengers arriving in the UK from Portugal will no longer have to self-isolate after it was added to the travel corridor list, Mr Shapps said.
He tweeted: “Data shows we need to remove Croatia, Austria and Trinidad & Tobago from our list of #coronavirus Travel Corridors to keep infection rates DOWN.
“If you arrive in the UK after 0400 Saturday from these destinations, you will need to self-isolate for 14 days.
“Data also shows we can now add Portugal to those countries INCLUDED in Travel Corridors.
“As with all air bridge countries, please be aware that things can change quickly.
“Only travel if you are content to unexpectedly 14-day quarantine if required (I speak from experience!)”
The weekly incidence (cases) per 100,000 for Croatia has increased from 10.4 on August 12 to 27.4 on August 19 – a 164 per cent increase.
Over the same period, Trinidad and Tobago saw a 232 per cent increase increase in weekly incidence per 100,000, while Austria had a 93 per cent increase between August 13 and August 20 (from 10.5 per 100,000, to 20.3).
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has updated its travel advice to advise against all but essential travel to Croatia, Trinidad and Tobago and Austria, while Portugal has been exempted from the FCO’s global advisory against non-essential travel.
Other destinations also excluded from the quarantine “green list” include France, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Malta and Turks and Caicos.
